Finding Your Writing Pace

Are you a sprinter or a marathoner?

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people try their hands at writing 50,000 words of a novel in the month of November, as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

The success and popularity of NaNoWriMo is a testament to the power of the writing sprint. You can accomplish a great deal when you focus on a single writing task and work to a major deadline.

But how do you translate this success into a sustained writing life? A former NaNoWriMo participant, Amber, sent me this email:

I wrote 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo in 19 days, but I was toast for a week after I finished. I want to finish my next first draft and I know that a steady pace is key, but I have a problem being consistent. As much fun as those fits of inspiration are, the rest of the world falls away when I get to writing like that and some of my other priorities get left by the wayside.

How do I utilize that inspiration to make progress on my drafts without neglecting the rest of my responsibilities? And how do I consistently update even when I feel tapped out?

Amber makes a great point: We cannot live by sprints alone. If you want to be a writer and also remain sane or maintain a day job, you need a different approach. The demands of everyday…